Random Friday Thoughts

And this morning that yucky feeling was - still there. But I am happy to report that the wonderful young man that works at Starbucks (who also happens to be a diehard Penguins fan; we exchange lots of colorful dialogue during the season), was exceptionally nice to me this morning and sincerely passed on his sympathies on the occassion of the Capitals' epic loss. It was a welcome change from the evil cheers and jeers I've seen from fans of the ice fowl in the past day since Game 7. Other than the select few (which includes some of the aforementioned Penguins fans and the so-called Caps fans who threw debris after the loss, including a full bottle of whiskey that hit a young man in the head), most hockey fans are good people. Back on the moronic bottle-throwing Caps fans, if that had been my kid, you'd not only have to deal with the wrath of Hockey Mom but I would have also gotten the law involved. Idiot...way to stay classy.

But to wrap up what's been a most trying week for the Capitals' faithful, here are a few random nuggets:

• No surprises here - Alex Ovechkin has been nominated for the Hart Trophy for the third consecutive year. My prediction (though not a popular one) is that it will go to Henrik Sedin.
• Brooks Laich is awesome - and a good citizen too. This feel-good story will bring a smile to your face and reinforces the reasons we love hockey players. Just regular Joes for the most part.
• Sergei Fedorov shares his insight on the Capitals collapse over at Puck Daddy.
• After the smoke clears, don't expect drastic firings in the Caps front office or massive changes to the Capitals roster. Small tweaks will hopefully do the trick.
• Could this be the year the San Jose Sharks finally break their own President's Trophy curse? Thanks to help from a hot Joe Pavelski, the Sharks downed the Wings 4-3 in Game 1.
• As far as the Western Conference goes, HM is sporting the Canucks blue as Vancouver meets their heated rivals the Chicago Blackhawks in a rematch from last season's playoffs. All of my readers know of my love for the dynamic duo of Henrik and Daniel Sedin (it's a twin mom thing I think, but whatever magical twin powers they've got going on, it's amazing to watch). Wonder twin powers - Release!
• And on a not-so-happy note, the Capitals will return to Kettler today to clean out their lockers for a wondrous season that came to an abrupt end all too soon. Will share any interesting tidbits I hear from this sad rite of passage.